Femmes Aux Yeux Ouverts

Female Activists in Africa

Women in four African countries are shown organizing around issues of marital rights, reproductive health, female genital mutilation and entrepreneurship.

A film about African women is a rarity, even more, one made by an African woman. In FEMMES AUX YEUX OUVERTS, award-winning Togolese filmmaker, Anne-Laure Folly presents portraits of contemporary African women from four West African nations: Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and Benin. The film shows how African women are speaking out and organizing around five key issues: marital rights, reproductive health, female genital mutilation, women's role in the economy and political rights.

"It takes courage to see the true condition of women in the world and to speak out about it. Courage and a strong stomach. The women in this film possess the necessary radical vision that neither romanticizes nor renders remote the obvious consequences of female enslavement." - Alice Walker

"A wonderful film seen through the eyes of women determined to make a change in their lives. It will make you cry and laugh but most importantly, bring you closer to African women." - Else Mia Adjali, United Methodist Office for the U.N.

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